Fiji: New Trouble In Paradise

New Trouble In Paradise

The first sign that something was afoot came at 4 p.m. last Friday, when armed troops invaded the offices of two newspapers and a commercial radio station in the Fijian capital of Suva. Within an hour, Army Commander Lieut. Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka then confirmed the flying rumors. His forces, he announced over the radio, had "reasserted their authority over the government." It was Rabuka's second coup in four months.

The military strongman seized control hours after Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, who represents Queen Elizabeth II in the former British colony, announced an interim solution to the Pacific island chain's political...